An initiative has been launched at COP28 to address biodiversity, climate, and pollution with the goal of slowing down ship speeds globally by 25% by 2030.
The 2030 Shipping Pact For People and Nature outlined measures to guide the maritime sector in reducing its negative impacts on marine biodiversity and climate, in a report led by Canadian activist group Equal Routes and backed by UN’s Race to Zero, a multi-stakeholder alliance committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
“With the revision of the underwater radiated noise guidelines and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)’s greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets this year, it’s a key time for the maritime sector to seize on the opportunity,” said Andrew Dumbrille, co-founder of Equal Routes.
The IMO this year agreed more ambitious GHG reduction targets, establishing “indicative checkpoints” including a 30% cut under 2008 levels by 2030 on the way to a net zero goal by ‘around’ 2050. The UN body will meet again in March to try to agree on measures to help get there, including carbon pricing.
Shipping activities can have a significant impact on biodiversity through noise pollution from engines affecting the behaviour of marine mammals, impacting their health, and in turn hitting food security, Equal Routes said.
However, slowing down ships can reduce underwater noise, the risk of whales striking ships, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“Mandating speed reduction, along with increasing the efficiency of ships, could contribute substantially in meeting the revised IMO GHG reduction reduction targets of 30% by 2030, while also having significant positive biodiversity impacts,” Equal Routes said.
The pact, which has not yet listed any signatories, outlined the 2030 goal for slowing down ships:
- 25% fleet average speed reduction
- 50% underwater noise reduction
- Whale strike mortalities decrease by 80%
- 40-50% greenhouse gas emissions reduction
The pact aims to ensure the shipping sector can be part of the just transition to a low-carbon global economy.
Lisa Qiluqqi Koperqualuk, president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council in Canada, said: “A paradigm shift has to occur which supports climate vulnerable Small Island Developing States, least developed countries, and Indigenous Peoples, and reverses course on biodiversity loss.”
“People and the wellbeing of communities have to be at the heart of addressing climate and biodiversity in shipping,” Koperqualuk said.
The pact included a series of other goals for 2030 for the shipping industry, including:
- Quadrupling the number of protected Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas, from a 2020 baseline
- Ban the use of heavy fuel oil worldwide
- Completely eliminate plastic waste
- Effluent discharges treated to the highest standards
Razan Al Mubarak, UN climate change high level champion for COP28, said: “Shipping exists at the intersection of the triple planetary crisis – climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss – while commitments to improving shipping’s environmental performance exist, these efforts need to be harmonised.”
By Thomas Cox – t.cox@carbon-pulse.com
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